Smithsonian Exhibit Shows the Irving Penn We Knew and More
Irving Penn's "Head in Ice," New York, 2002
Irving Penn truly was an artistic genius. Born in Plainfield, NJ on June 16, 1917, Penn studied art and advertising design at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art. Harper’s Bazaar magazine gave him his start, of sorts, as an apprentice artist. He went on to use his education over the next few years filling
the job as Art Director at both Junior League magazine and at Saks Fifth Avenue. Photography wasn’t an interest of Penn’s at this point but when he started work at Vogue magazine things started to change…
Irving Penn's "Bee," New York, 1995
Irving Penn started at Vogue as an assistant to then Art Director Alexander Liberman. He soon moved behind the camera after having a groundbreaking idea and his October 1943 cover of Vogue launched his photographic career.
He then had a great career shooting portraits of then unknown European artists such as Salvador Dalí, Anton Dolin, Joan Miró and André Malraux. Other memorable series’ he has done includes the Small Trades project which documents workers posing with tools of their trades, and Flowers - which was created over 7 years to use on Vogue Christmas editions.
Irving Penn's "Ball Dress by Oliver Theyskens for Nina Ricci," New York, 2007
Even after his death in 2009, Irving Penn’s amazing works of art live on. Fans of Penn’s and of photography in general won’t want to miss the new exhibit – “Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty”. It is a truly fantastic display which shows us all we knew about Penn and a whole lot more. There are 146 images are on display - and 100 of them have never been seen before!
Photo's: WWD
Irving Penn's "Issey Miyake Fashion: White and Black," New York 1990
Catch this truly remarkable show on now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. until March 20, 2016, the Dallas Museum of Art from April 15, 2016 – Aug 14, 2016, and wrapping up at Leslie University’s College of Art and Design in Cambridge, Mass., in September 2016.
